The F1 circus is coming to town! Ronald Wan is all geared up to be a Prancing Horse

If you smelled the air lately, you could tell it’s different. Think petrol and burnt rubber. Yes, Singapore is all geared up for the SingTel Formula 1 Grand Prix, the world’s first night race happening this weekend in downtown City Hall! Do you smell it already? Do you? Do you?

While I’m all weird and excited about seeing the scarlet red Ferrari and silver McLaren cars driving by the Esplanade, it’s strange how some people don’t really give a hoot. In fact, the local paper did a survey and found out most plebeians (not UW readers, of course) didn’t even realise the F1 circus is coming to town. Seriously?

I guess, just like how some women can’t understand why 22 men chase a football but can perfectly figure out the physics of walking on 5-inch heels, maybe motor sports isn’t meant to be enjoyed by everyone. The other day Ah Beng my neighbour told me, “See them drive around the same circuit 60 laps for what? Repeat 60 times very cheong hey (long-winded). Worse than the gahmen reminding you to flush your toilet everytime.”

Maybe if tickets weren’t that expensive (a 3-day grandstand ticket will cost you $1,400), folks like us could afford to go. Or maybe if the organisers were nice enough not to block us cheapskates from getting a free view, then people might be more interested. After all, it’s a street circuit. Isn’t it a public space and supposed to be free?

Nonetheless, I will be there come race day. I will walk around the track checking out the cars and grid girls with my walkabout tickets. I can’t help but feel like an MP [Member of Parliament] in training already.

On the pop culture watch, there was another event that was filled with anticipation. Sadly, the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards ended with a whimper. Considering the amount of good television these days (Lost, CSI, Weeds, Gossip Girls and First Class – we’re really kidding about the last one), many expected the Emmy Awards ceremony, especially a big bang show for the 60th year, to fare just as well.

Two things stood in the way of that. Firstly, the Academy didn’t nominate the people we thought deserved best (what’s new?). Then the actual awards show was a yawn. 5 otherwise competent hosts worked awkwardly together and tried their best to banter while Ryan Seacrest sulked. Heidi Klum stripped several times (by her second lame attempt, she should have seen the Auf Wiedersehen, baby sign flashing!). And who needs to know HBO’s John Adams just won another award?

The only saving grace was watching The Office’s Ricky Gervais ripping Steve Carell apart. Get the Brit back to host next year’s show, I say! Speaking of improvements, here are a few suggestions to spruce up the awards show.

Make it shorter. Do away with the boring awards like Made for Television Movie award. Cut straight to commercial if another winner thanked his or her mom watching at home. And instead of watching a pained Josh Groban singing onstage, give us the TV bloopers on set. We want to know what goes on behind the scenes between T.R. Knight and Isaiah Washington on Grey’s Anatomy. Seriously.

Unlike the boring Emmy awards, the F1 event will turn out to be simply awesome, at least we hope so. The world will be watching our street circuit, the Esplanade, Flyer, Fullerton Hotel, Supreme Court and the construction cranes over at the Integrated Resort. Quite a sight, don’t you think?

Hopefully, the roar of the V8 powered engines will excite everyone to check out the race, including our dear Ah Beng. I’m pretty sure he will show up at the circuit this weekend – after flushing the toilet.

Ronald Wan was a former editor at UrbanWire and is now a freelance writer who flushes his toilet regularly